417's Cooking Class with Ocean Zen

Check out how the folks over at Ocean Zen cook up some of the best cuisine in 417-land?

By Katie Pollock Estes

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If you are a fan of the sweet, savory and always-fresh flavors of Ocean Zen, then this is your chance to see Chef Johnson Tan at work creating colorful dishes at this month’s 417 Cooking Class. See him prepare a bright sushi appetizer with the Hawaii Five-O Roll, and learn how to roll sushi at home. For the second course, you can taste the crispy-coated roasted butterfish with a side of misoyaki roasted eggplant. The third course is a tender black pepper-crusted filet served on a bed of wasabi mashed potatoes. But the most indulgent part of all is dessert: A warm chocolate soufflé with a side of smooth vanilla bean ice cream. Can’t make it to Cooking Class? Don’t worry: All the recipes are here, so you can try them at home.

Hawaii Five-O Roll

with pineapple salsa
Serves 2
Paired with Dry Creek fume blanc, Sonoma, California

For the sushi roll:
1 4-ounce piece of sushi-grade
ahi tuna
2 ounces crushed black
peppercorns
3 ounces of sushi crab
2 slices of avocado
2 slices of cucumber, julienned
1 cup sushi rice
1 sheet nori (seaweed)
2 ounces Thai chili sauce
2 ounces pineapple salsa
2 sprigs cilantro
sesame seeds for garnish

For pineapple salsa:
2 ounces pineapple, diced
1 ounce red onion, diced
1 ounce bell pepper, diced
1 ounce tomatoes, diced
1 ounce cilantro, chopped
To prepare sushi roll:
Mix all salsa ingredients, and set aside. Coat the tuna with peppercorns, then sear in a hot pan with a little olive oil for 25 seconds on each side. Slice tuna thinly, and set aside. Using a sushi mat, roll crab, avocado and cucumber with nori and sushi rice. Place sliced peppered tuna over the top, and mold with sushi mat. Cut into eight pieces. Drizzle with Thai chili sauce and pineapple salsa. Garnish with cilantro and sesame seeds.